EXCLUSIVE

THE credibility of the most senior officers of Thurrock Council has been questioned after councillors were misinformed about an audit trail for the bungled and massively overspent A13 widening project.

The 'blame' goes to the very top as council CEO Lyn Carpenter was in charge of the project – but any responsibility she had for the near £40 million overspend was written out of history by the current assistant director of transport infrastructure when she briefed councillors at a recent meeting.

And the role of the council's finance director, Sean Clark, was also brushed over - though he too was massively involved in the financial planning for the project and gave the green light for decisions which have subsequently proved extremely expensive.

At last week's Planning, Transport, Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Assistant Director of Lower Thames Crossing & Transport Infrastructure Projects, Anna Eastgate, was quizzed on the audit trail of the project after she had told councillors that a number of mistakes in its planning had taken place.

In particular she referred to the decision to split a contract for the widening project into two sections – design and construction. That meant there was little cohesion between the planning and the reality of the build – with one huge mistake being to omit to plan for changes to established utilities on the road. That alone cost the project many millions of pounds as contractors Kier Construction didn't include it in their estimated costs and it came as an 'add on' to the bill!

Ms Eastgate was asked about the audit trail for decision making and told councillors that no officers were left at the council who were accountable.

However, rudimentary research of council records show that Ms Carpenter was the accountable director at the outset of the project and was in charge when the key decisions were made.

And Mr Clark signed off on a report to councillors saying there were no adverse financial implications.

"Tens of millions of pounds of public money appear to have been either misspent or wasted - by accident or design - and it is really important that we get answers" - Cllr John Allen

In the wake of the scrutiny committee there has been a significant shake-up of the chairs of committees with independent councillor John Allen now in charge of transport and regeneration.

He now wants to bring the CEO and Mr Clark back to the committee to account for the decision-making process.

Cllr Allen said: "I was present at the recent meeting when members were told that there was no 'audit trail' as the relevant officers had let the council.

"This is clearly not so.

"I think it would be entirely appropriate for both the CEO, Lyn Carpenter, and the Finance Director, Sean Clark, to attend the next meeting of the scrutiny committee and answer questions and to give a review of what the decision-making was, and why it took place.

"The current assistant director of infrastructure, who advised members that there was no one accountable may have been misinformed, so no blame necessarily lies with her, though does seem strange that - as she spoke about how she was 'long in the tooth and not fazed' by tough projects - she was not fully aware.

"Tens of millions of pounds of public money appear to have been either misspent or wasted - by accident or design - and it is really important that we get answers.

"If the CEO and senior finance director claim they are not accountable for this massive, keynote infrastructure project, then you have to wonder what we are paying them for.

"Scrutiny is most definitely needed and questions into this large overspend need to be answered instead of blaming officers who are no longer serving Thurrock."

"It is a matter of great concern to me that there is no accountability for poor performance" - MP Jackie Doyle-Price

And Thurrock's MP Jackie Doyle-Price is equally concerned that senior officers appear to be unaccountable for decisions. She has called on the authority's councillors to put political differences aside and serve residents by 'stepping up to the plate' and challenging its executive leadership.

She says that the officer cohort at the council hold themselves above accountability to the public and see councillors as 'an inconvenience'

Speaking to Thurrock Nub News she listed a number of stalled or failing projects and said: "It is the duty of the 49 councillors to hold officers to account and ensure that the authority delivers the council's policies. I can only give challenge.

"It is a matter of great concern to me that there is no accountability for poor performance. There is a lack of maturity in the political debate in Thurrock which sees everything as a game or an opportunity for point scoring. The public is being failed by this. It feels to me that members are seen as inconvenience to be managed.

"As I have said before the council lacks the capacity to deliver significant projects. The evidence is there for all to see:

• Significant overspend on the A13 due to poor contract negotiation
• Purfleet regeneration - plans announced in 2014, still no spades in the ground
• Grays High Street – funding for the underpass announced in 2017 – still no spades in the ground